Felicia Michelle Adams, daughter of John Adams and Verlean Adams, and a senior at East High School, where her activities included dance, track and volleyball. Felicia will major in biology at Colorado State University-Pueblo and plans to become an obstetrician/gynecologist. “Meeting all these lovely young ladies” has been the highlight of her debutante experience. Her escort for the ball was Noel Smith, a 2006 graduate of Montbello High School.

Chontavia Marie Cooper, whose well-wishers for the ball included Denver Bronco Dre Bly. Chontavia is in the first graduating class for Denver School of Science and Technology, where she was homecoming queen, a member of the yearbook staff and prom committee. She was also crowned queen of the Sigma Pearls Cotillion. Her parents are Troy Davis and Tonya Davis and she will be pre-med at Fisk University. Of her desire ro become a pediatrician, Chontavia says “It always hurts me to see a child not being able to function as it should.” Her escort was Devon Darville, who graduated from high school in 2007 in Louisiana.

Shashawna Fay Crowe,who plans to enroll at Metropolitan State College of Denver following her May 21 graduation from Regis Jesuit High School. She’ll major in business management and administration. At Regis, Shashawna was founder and captain of the Lady Raiders step team, served on the Multi-Cultural Alliance executive board and attended diversity conferences both locally and nationally. Her parents are Wythe and Linda Crow. Shashawna says that being a deb was neat in that “People recognize you for all your accomplishments” and that she particularly enjoyed taking part in the community service component of the program. Her escort: DeAndre Davis, a student at Denver School of Science and Technology.

Iliah Marie Duncan is the daughter of Keith and Diedra Duncan and will graduate from Rangeview High School. She credits the debutante experience with helping her to “Open up more … it brought me out of my shell.” During high school, Iliah worked two jobs to earn money for her college tuition; she’ll attend school in Louisiana, majoring in computer science with goal of becoming a systems analyst. Dancing is her passion, as is writing music. Her escort was Deon Davis, a student at Smoky Hill High School.

Kyla Michelle Hoovergraduated a semester ahead of her senior class at Smoky Hill High School and has been taking classes at Community College of Aurora since January. She is currently weighing options offered by other schools, including Florida State University, in her desired major of sociology. Darrell Armour and Charlotte Armour-Hoover are her parents; her escort was Vaughn Sterling, a student at Gateway High School. Of the debutante experience, Kyla said: “My mom, who had been a deb, told me it’d be a fun thing — and she was right!”

Kera Nalene Keliiholokai is graduating from Hinkley High School with a 2.714 GPA and while she knows she wants to major in music, she is still deciding on which of the colleges that have accepted her to attend. She’s a vocalist who can sing any style of music and has her eye on oneday landing a role on Broadway. She’s a Denver native with a Hawaiian grandfather, and says that when she looks back on her high school days she will be proudest of “Being able to accomplish things I didn’t think I could.” Her parents are William Keliiholokai and Kecia Keliiholokai and her escort was Joshua Taylor, a student at East High School.

Courtney Tyler Marsh maintained a cumulative 3.176 GPA at Gateway HIgh School, and for that she received an academic letter. She also received an athletic letter for playing volleyball all four years and assisting the coaching staff by instructing elementary school students in the fundamentals of the game and encouraging middle school students to play when they enter high school. Not surprisingly, then, she will major in elementary education at the University of Northern Colorado. As for being a deb, Courtney said: “I loved dressing up, looking nice and having a day that was all for myself.” Her parents are Melvin Marsh and Gwendolyn Marsh; her escort was Rangeview High School student Wilbur Powell.

Mira Elizabeth McClinon was accepted by three colleges and has chosen Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., where she will enter a five-year engineering program that will eventually yield an MBA. Biochemical engineering is her primary interest, and she also enjoys basketball and will play for the women’s team at Gonzaga. “I love playing basketball,” she said, but a pro career isn’t on her radar screen. “Education is going to take me a lot farther than the WNBA,” she observes. Mira was a member of Kent Denver School’s elite basketball team for three years and was twice voted MVP of the volleyball team. Her parents are Rudolph McClinon Jr. and Karen Parks-McClinon; her escort was Tory Hill, a graduating senior at Hinkley High School.

Carli Symone Pearce is graduating from Gateway High School with a 3.2 cumulative GPA, for which she received an academic letter and was recognizd as an outstanding student in the foreign language and social studies departments. The daughter of Angela Pearce, Carli will double-major in social work and Spanish at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C. Her goal is to become a social worker. “I’ve seen so many problems that I think I can fix,” she said. At Gateway, Carli was captain of the hip-hop dance team and belonged to the Pep, Ebony and Spanish clubs. She was presented by her pastor, Lee Hall Sr., and escorted by Tyler Johnson, a 2006 graduate of Grandview High School.

Tina Marie Trammer is graduating from Aurora Central High School with a cumulative GPA of 3.105, which earned her a spot on the Honor Roll for the past nine quarters. Before starting her pre-law studies at the University of Colorado-Denver, Tina will get a close-up look at politics by serving an internship with the Obama campaign during the Democratic National Convention. Her career goal is to become a district attorney. Tina is the daughter of Ida Holloway and won two Debate Club awards in high school. She was presented by Justin Trammer and her escort was Shane McGee, a student at Montbello High School.

Pictures taken at the Sigma Pearls Cotillion Ball can be viewed at denverpost.com/seengallery. Another story about the debs appears in Joanne Davidson’s column in the print edition of today’s Denver Post.

Society Editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com.

The 22 Owl Club debutantes, presented at a black-tie dinner held at the Marriott City Center, are:Lameisha Elise Banks: A graduate of Hinkley High School and the daughter of Cheryl Lyn Banks, Lameisha plans to attend Benedict College, to which she has been given a Trustee Scholarship. At Hinkley, she was a member of the National Honor Society, the track and field team and was named Most Valuable Player of 2005 for the volleyball team. She has volunteered at the Medical Center of Aurora. Read more…

Study after study has shown that when it comes to charitable fundraisers, Denver has more per capita than any comparably sized city in the nation. Joanne Davidson has been covering them for The Denver Post since 1985, coming here from her native California where she'd spent the previous seven years as San Francisco bureau chief for U.S. News & World Report magazine.